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Nicholas Bois McGhee (1857-1927)
Rev. Nicholas Bois McGhee was a Christian Minister – Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ - in the United States and England and an army chaplain in South Africa. Ancestry Nicholas was a descendent of Sir Robert McGhee, Bt (1580 to 1615) and Lady Nancy McGhee. The title of Baronet, which is a hereditary knighthood, was abandoned by Sir Ralph McGhee, Bt and his son Sir David McGhee, Bt between the years of 1776 and 1789 due to the American Revolutionary War. The U.S. Constitution prohibits the use of titles of nobility by U.S. citizens unless they are used in an honorific manner. The baronet title was rehabilitated by the Rev. Sir Nicholas B. McGhee, Bt due to his service in the British Army as a chaplain during the second Boer War. The title has been abandoned since his death in 1927. His grandson Michael McGhee holds the title as an honorific title by the right of bloodline and hereditary succession and is Sir Michael McGhee, Bt. but because he is not a British subject the title remains honorary. McGhee was from one of the American South’s most notable families. They immigrated to North Carolina in the 17th century and Tennessee in the mid and late 18th century. They married into the White family of Knoxville, and the main city library (Lawson McGhee Library) and international/regional airport (McGhee Tyson Airport) are named after them. In addition, the family funded the construction of the Episcopal Cathedral (Saint John’s) in Knoxville and has a special stained glass window dedicated to the family. They used left-over materials from the cathedral to construct Saint Andrew’s Riverside near their plantation. The Masonic Hall in Knoxville was one of the families' mansions and was dedicated to the Masonic fraternity after the death of Col. Charles McClung McGhee. The families' land holdings were estimated to be over 80,000 acres at one time with the main plantation being located near Vonore/McGhee, Tennessee – this plantation was named Tuskeega. This plantation encompasses part of North and South Carolina and Tennessee. Two chapters are dedicated to this family in Alberta and Carson Brewer’s 1975 book Valley So Wild. The family also maintained land and commercial holdings in Kentucky and Illinois purchased during the westward expansions. Theological training and ministry He attended seminary at Eminence College, Eminence, Kentucky. He was ordained and had pulpits in: * Kentucky * Butler, Missouri * Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Fort Scott, Kansas * Chester, England * Los Angeles, California Boer War service He served in the British Army as a chaplain during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Death He died of complications (onset diabetes) from an automobile/train accident in which both of his legs were lost. He passed away July 23, 1927. External links *Descendants of Robert MCGHEE (1700-1775) - has Col. Charles McClung McGhee (1828-1907) as #24 but no sign of James b. 1825 *WikiTree index of McGhee - no apparent link by January 2017 though it has the Colonel *Search WorldConnect - not there, Jan 2017 category:born in Danville, Illinois category:resided in Kentucky category:resided in Bourbon County, Kansas category:resided in Cheshire category:resided in Los Angeles County, California